Maryland HOA Governing Statute

Overview — How HOAs are governed in Maryland

Maryland governs its common-ownership communities with two separate, purpose-built statutes rather than one unified code. Non-condominium homeowners associations fall under the Maryland Homeowners Association Act — the MHAA — found at Md. Code, Real Property § 11B-101 et seq., which took effect in 1987.¹ Condominiums answer to the Maryland Condominium Act, Md. Code, Real Property § 11-101 et seq., which took effect in 1981.² The two acts run in parallel. Each carries its own definitions, its own section numbering, and its own obligations, and applying one act's provisions to the other type of community is a mistake.

Associations organized as Maryland nonstock corporations register with the Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) and file annual reports there. SDAT maintains the public business-entity database, but it does not settle disputes.³ Montgomery County adds a substantial county layer through its Commission on Common Ownership Communities — the CCOC — under Montgomery County Code Chapter 10B, which registers communities, mediates, and issues binding decisions in qualifying disputes, but only within that county.⁴ One more thing to keep straight: a constitutional amendment renamed Maryland's appellate courts effective December 14, 2022. The Court of Appeals became the Supreme Court of Maryland, and the Court of Special Appeals became the Appellate Court of Maryland.⁵

Maryland is a comprehensive non-UCIOA state. Neither act adopts the Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act, so you should not import UCIOA concepts into a Maryland analysis. What you get instead is a process-and-disclosure-heavy framework, where statutory timelines, resale disclosure packages, reserve funding, and recorded governing documents drive day-to-day compliance — plus that distinct county layer in Montgomery County that property managers and boards operating there have to track on their own.

The statutory framework

Start with the Maryland Homeowners Association Act, codified at Md. Code, Real Property § 11B-101 et seq. (Title 11B). It took effect in 1987 and has been amended in most legislative sessions since. The act applies to non-condominium homeowners associations. Under § 11B-102, it does not reach property that is part of a condominium regime governed by Title 11, part of a cooperative housing corporation, or used for nonresidential purposes.⁶

The act is organized around several functional groups of sections. Definitions appear in § 11B-101 — including "declaration," "homeowners association" (a person with authority to enforce a declaration), "lot," and "common areas." Disclosure and sale provisions run through §§ 11B-105 to 11B-109. Governance provisions cover open meetings (§ 11B-111),⁷ covenant-enforcement due process (§ 11B-111.10),⁸ books and records (§ 11B-112),⁹ the county-level depository (§ 11B-113), budgets (§ 11B-112.2), reserve studies (§ 11B-112.3),¹⁰ amendment of governing documents (§ 11B-116), lien priority (§ 11B-117), and elections (§ 11B-118). Section 11B-103 matters more than its placement suggests: except where the act expressly allows it, the act's provisions may not be varied by agreement, and the rights it confers may not be waived. That makes much of the act mandatory rather than default.¹¹

Among the defined terms, the "declaration" is central, because the MHAA only applies where a recorded instrument creates authority to impose a mandatory fee. Disclosure is the most frequently amended area. Under § 11B-106, a seller cannot enforce the resale of a lot unless the purchaser receives a disclosure package, which the seller can furnish before the contract or within 20 calendar days after signing; the seller must also disclose changes in mandatory fees that exceed 10 percent. The preparation fee is capped at $250, adjusted for the CPI every two years, with an allowable rush fee of $50 to $100.¹² The records and meeting rules under §§ 11B-112 and 11B-111 require that books and records stay available for inspection during normal business hours after reasonable notice, that meetings of the governing body stay open to members with reasonable notice, and that the association may withhold certain sensitive records.

Now the Maryland Condominium Act, codified at Md. Code, Real Property § 11-101 et seq. (Title 11). The current act took effect in 1981 and, like the MHAA, has been amended extensively. It governs condominiums, which come into being when a declaration, bylaws, and a condominium plat are recorded among the county land records under § 11-102.

Structurally, the act defines its terms in § 11-101 — including "unit," "common elements," "limited common elements," "council of unit owners," and "board of directors." From there it addresses the declaration (§ 11-103), bylaws (§ 11-104), the plat (§ 11-105), percentage interests (§ 11-107), the council of unit owners as the governing legal entity (§ 11-109), closed board meetings (§ 11-109.1), the annual budget (§ 11-109.2), reserve studies (§ 11-109.4),¹³ common expenses, assessments, and liens (§ 11-110),¹⁴ rules and regulations (§ 11-111), insurance (§ 11-114),¹⁵ books and records (§ 11-116), and resale (§ 11-135).

Resale disclosure for condominiums runs through § 11-135, which requires the seller to provide a resale certificate and supporting documents and gives the purchaser a statutory right to rescind after receiving the certificate.¹⁶ This differs from the MHAA in both mechanics and terminology: the condominium statute uses a "resale certificate" prepared by the council of unit owners, while the MHAA uses a "disclosure package," and the two carry different timing rules and fee provisions. Other key differences from the MHAA include the condominium's ownership structure (units plus undivided interests in common elements), the council of unit owners as the statutory governing entity, mandatory insurance obligations under § 11-114, and § 11-142, which applies the act to condominiums created before July 1, 1982 but does not require those older condominiums to amend their governing documents to conform.¹⁷ SB 665 / HB 1496 (2024) lowered the § 11-103(c) threshold to amend a condominium declaration from 80 percent to 66 and two-thirds percent of total eligible voters, effective October 1, 2024 — though the 80 percent requirement still applies where the developer still owns units.¹⁸

Most Maryland associations organize as nonstock corporations under the Corporations and Associations Article. Those entities register with SDAT through their articles of incorporation and must file an annual report (Form 1) by April 15 each year to stay in good standing. SDAT maintains the public business-entity database and can administratively forfeit the right to do business for non-filing, but it does not hear association disputes or impose HOA-specific sanctions. Condominium developers separately file public offering statements during initial sales.

Montgomery County operates the most substantial county overlay through its Commission on Common Ownership Communities under Montgomery County Code Chapter 10B. Chapter 10B requires every common-ownership community in the county to register annually, funds an education and dispute-resolution program, and authorizes binding administrative hearings. Under § 10B-9, a party must make a good-faith attempt to exhaust association remedies before filing, and once a dispute is filed the association generally may not enforce its decision until the matter is resolved.¹⁹ Hearing panels issue decisions under § 10B-13, and a court may hear an action de novo only if no panel decision has issued.²⁰ The Commission seats 15 voting members under § 10B-3.²¹ CCOC jurisdiction stops at the county line, and some municipalities adjust how it applies: the City of Gaithersburg withdrew its communities from the county CCOC framework effective July 1, 2025.²²

Lesser overlays exist elsewhere. Prince George's County runs its own Common Ownership Communities program and — under Real Property § 14-131 plus 2025 provisions codified at § 11-109.5 (condominiums), § 11B-112.4 (HOAs), and § 5-6B-26.2 (cooperatives) — requires community associations there to register annually with the Office of Community Relations by January 31, effective July 1, 2025; non-registration carries misdemeanor charges and a fine not to exceed $1,000 under Real Property § 14-131(k).^23,24,25,26 Beyond the statutes, Maryland corporate law — the Corporations and Associations Article, including the Nonstock Corporation Act — governs corporate structure, director duties, and meetings for incorporated associations, and common-law contract and property doctrine governs the recorded declaration and covenants (the CC&Rs), which the statutes supplement and, in specified areas, override.

Compliance obligations created by the statutory framework

Governance obligations

For non-condominium HOAs, open meetings are mandatory under MHAA § 11B-111, which requires governing-body meetings to stay open to members with reasonable notice, subject to a few closed-session categories. Covenant enforcement requires due process under § 11B-111.10 — written notice and an opportunity for a hearing before fines. Records inspection is mandatory under § 11B-112, and § 11B-118 governs elections of the governing body. For condominiums, the parallel obligations sit in the Condominium Act: closed-meeting limits in § 11-109.1, council-of-unit-owners governance in § 11-109, rules in § 11-111, and records in § 11-116. These provisions are generally mandatory; the declaration may not waive them under MHAA § 11B-103, though governing documents can supplement the procedural details.

Financial obligations

Assessments, common expenses, and liens for condominiums run through Condominium Act § 11-110. Annual budgets are required under § 11-109.2 (condominiums) and MHAA § 11B-112.2 (HOAs). Reserve studies are mandatory statewide under § 11-109.4 (condominiums) and § 11B-112.3 (HOAs); for HOAs, the requirement triggers where the association has declaration responsibility for maintaining common areas and the total initial purchase and installation costs for all components reach at least $10,000. Both community types enforce assessment liens under the Maryland Contract Lien Act, Real Property §§ 14-201 to 14-206, which allows a lien after a 30-day notice and foreclosure in the same manner as a deed of trust, with a 12-year limit and a restriction in § 14-204 that foreclosure may rest only on delinquent assessments and related costs, not fines.²⁷ These obligations are largely mandatory, and reserve funding is now driven by the most recent reserve study rather than left to board discretion.

Disclosure obligations

Resale disclosure is mandatory. Condominiums must furnish a resale certificate under § 11-135, and HOAs must furnish a disclosure package under § 11B-106 — each with its own timing rules and a statutory cancellation right for the buyer. SDAT registration is a recurring obligation for incorporated associations, which must file an annual Form 1 report by April 15 to keep their corporate status and stay in the public SDAT database; failure to file can lead to forfeiture of the right to do business. Financial reporting flows through the annual budget and reserve provisions (§§ 11-109.2 and 11B-112.2) and the records-inspection rights in §§ 11-116 and 11B-112. These are mandatory and generally may not be varied by the declaration.

Dispute resolution obligations

Both acts require pre-enforcement due process — notice and an opportunity to be heard before sanctions — under MHAA § 11B-111.10 and Condominium Act § 11-113. Statewide, owner-association disputes that don't resolve internally proceed to the Maryland circuit courts, and the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division mediates certain matters and, after 2025 amendments, holds expanded enforcement authority over both acts. For Montgomery County communities, the CCOC offers a binding dispute-resolution venue distinct from circuit-court litigation: under Chapter 10B, owners and associations may bring qualifying disputes to a CCOC hearing panel, whose decision is binding subject to judicial review, after they exhaust association remedies. That county venue carries an automatic stay on enforcement once invoked, but parties keep the right to file a civil action.

Maryland's recent legislative and judicial activity

Recent bills

Maryland lawmakers spent 2025 tightening how associations fund their futures and how they run their elections. Two enacted measures stand out.

Recent court rulings

Maryland's appellate courts have been drawing the lines around when association powers actually apply, and how far a declaration's terms reach.

Active legislative debates

Some of the biggest questions in Maryland community-association law remain unsettled — from manager licensing to the cost of aging infrastructure.

National positioning and related coverage

Maryland sits among the comprehensive non-UCIOA states that built their own community-association codes rather than adopting a uniform act, alongside California (the Davis-Stirling Act), Florida (Chapters 718 and 720), Texas (the Property Code), Arizona (Title 33), and Virginia (the Property Owners' Association Act and the Condominium Act). What sets Maryland apart is its two-statute split between the MHAA and the Condominium Act, SDAT corporate registration for incorporated associations, the substantial Montgomery County CCOC overlay with binding dispute resolution, and the December 14, 2022 appellate-court renaming that changes how you cite Maryland cases. For multi-state operators, the practical takeaway is simple: Maryland compliance demands distinct attention to Montgomery County's CCOC framework wherever a managed community sits in that county, on top of the statewide statutory baseline.

Closing note

HOA Weekly's Maryland Governing Statute coverage updates quarterly to track amendments to the MHAA and the Condominium Act, new appellate decisions, and county-overlay changes. Federal frameworks — fair housing, debt collection, and flag and antenna rules among them — also apply to Maryland communities, and we cover those separately.

Footnotes

1. Md. Code Ann., Real Prop. § 11B-101 (Maryland Homeowners Association Act, Title 11B) ↩
2. Md. Code Ann., Real Prop. § 11-101 (Maryland Condominium Act, Title 11) ↩
3. Md. State Dep't of Assessments & Taxation, Business Services & Annual Report (Form 1) ↩
4. Montgomery County, Md., Code ch. 10B (Common Ownership Communities) ↩
5. Md. Judiciary, Constitutional Amendment Renames the Court of Appeals and the Court of Special Appeals (Dec. 14, 2022) ↩
6. Md. Code Ann., Real Prop. § 11B-102 (Application of title) ↩
7. Md. Code Ann., Real Prop. § 11B-111 (Open meetings of the governing body) ↩
8. Md. Code Ann., Real Prop. § 11B-111.10 (Covenant enforcement procedures) ↩
9. Md. Code Ann., Real Prop. § 11B-112 (Books and records) ↩
10. Md. Code Ann., Real Prop. § 11B-112.3 (Reserve studies) ↩
11. Md. Code Ann., Real Prop. § 11B-103 (Variation by agreement; waiver of rights) ↩
12. Md. Code Ann., Real Prop. § 11B-106 (Resale of lot; disclosure package) ↩
13. Md. Code Ann., Real Prop. § 11-109.4 (Reserve studies) ↩
14. Md. Code Ann., Real Prop. § 11-110 (Common expenses, assessments, and liens) ↩
15. Md. Code Ann., Real Prop. § 11-114 (Insurance) ↩
16. Md. Code Ann., Real Prop. § 11-135 (Resale of unit; resale certificate) ↩
17. Md. Code Ann., Real Prop. § 11-142 (Condominiums created before July 1, 1982) ↩
18. H.B. 1496 / S.B. 665, 2024 Reg. Sess., ch. 343 (Md. 2024) (Maryland Condominium Act — Amendments to the Declaration) ↩
19. Montgomery County, Md., Code § 10B-9 (Filing of disputes; exhaustion of association remedies) ↩
20. Montgomery County, Md., Code § 10B-13 (Hearing panel decisions) ↩
21. Montgomery County, Md., Code § 10B-3 (Commission on Common Ownership Communities; membership) ↩
22. City of Gaithersburg, Md., Commission on Common Ownership Communities (county framework withdrawal eff. July 1, 2025) ↩
23. Md. Code Ann., Real Prop. § 14-131 (Prince George's County — Community association registry) ↩
24. Md. Code Ann., Real Prop. § 11-109.5 (Prince George's County — Condominium registration) ↩
25. Md. Code Ann., Real Prop. § 11B-112.4 (Prince George's County — Homeowners association registration) ↩
26. Md. Code Ann., Corps. & Ass'ns § 5-6B-26.2 (Prince George's County — Cooperative housing registration) ↩
27. Md. Code Ann., Real Prop. §§ 14-201 to 14-206 (Maryland Contract Lien Act) ↩
28. H.B. 292 / S.B. 63, 2025 Reg. Sess., ch. 519 (Md. 2025) (Common Ownership Communities — Reserve Studies and Funding) ↩
29. S.B. 758 / H.B. 1534, 2025 Reg. Sess., ch. 512 (Md. 2025) (Common Ownership Communities — Elections, Financial Statements, and Enforcement) ↩
30. Logan v. Dietz, 258 Md. App. 629 (2023) ↩
31. Piney Narrows Yacht Haven Condo. Ass'n v. Corson, No. 0967, Sept. Term 2024 (Md. App.) (unreported) ↩
32. H.B. 303, 2025 Reg. Sess. (Md. 2025) (Real Property — Regulation of Common Ownership Community Managers) ↩